A Short Account of King's College Chapel — Inside the Classic

Foundation and Royal Patronage

Littlechild opens with Henry VI's 1441 foundation of King's College for a rector and twelve scholars, later remodelled in 1443 as the College of St. Mary and St. Nicholas. The original court stood north of the present chapel, opposite Clare College, housing generations of Kingsmen until about 1825. The author traces the chapel's construction through reigns: begun under Henry VI, continued by Richard III, and largely completed by Henry VII, whose arms—a dragon and greyhound as supporters—appear on the ante-chapel walls. The building's slow progress is noted without dramatisation, anchored by documentary references to royal grants and building accounts.

Windows and Heraldic Detail

Littlechild devotes substantial space to the chapel's windows, listing subjects and donors. He reproduces a photograph of the ship window on the south side, credited to J. Palmer Clark. Heraldic motifs recur: the crowned rose and portcullis badges of Henry VII, the initials H.A. from the screen. The author's method is descriptive rather than interpretive; he records what is visible, such as the arms of Henry VII on the walls, without speculating on symbolism. This empirical approach extends to the brasses, where he transcribes epitaphs verbatim, noting where words have been partially effaced.

Sepulchral Brasses and Inscriptions

Four sepulchral brasses on the chantry floors receive detailed treatment. The earliest, of Dr. William Towne (d. 1494), shows him in academical costume with a scroll reading 'Farewell to glory... God is my only hope.' Littlechild notes that the words 'Pray for the soul' and 'Whose soul God pardon' have been partially effaced. Dr. Argentine's brass (d. 1507) includes a plea to Christ as 'crucified Lord, Redeemer of mankind,' while Robert Hacumblen's brass features the five wounds of Christ and an inscription begging 'O Lord, judge me not according to my actions.' The fourth brass, of Robert Brassie (d. 1558), lacks its original label. These transcriptions preserve texts vulnerable to wear.

Littlechild's guide is best read alongside the building itself, as a companion for slow looking. Its value lies in the specific: the exact wording of a brass, the name of a window donor, the position of a heraldic badge. Readers interested in the chapel's fabric will find a reliable inventory; those seeking interpretation must look elsewhere. The author's role as chapel clerk lends authority to his observations, and his second edition's improvements reflect a responsive, practical approach to his subject.

I have always felt that both A Short Account of King's College Chapel and Michael Angelo Buonarroti With Translations Of The Life Of The Master By His Scholar, Ascanio Condivi, And Three Dialogues From The Portugese By Francisco d'Ollanda — Background and Themes are about quiet reverence—hands that shaped stone and glass for something greater than themselves, recorded faithfully by patient observers. One describes a chapel’s heraldry; the other, a sculptor’s soul. Both whisper of devotion lasting centuries.